A Writer's Debris

Category Archives: SequelAngst

In case anyone is wondering, I was paid no money to write this review. Or to post the photos that I’ll shortly be posting on Instagram. (Face it, nobody *pays* a book nerd with 100 followers on her blog to review their stuff.)

Now that that’s out of the way, hello all!

As everyone knows, I’m an avid follower of Booktube and I frequently suffer from a very serious affliction called “Owl-crate-envy” when I watch my favourite Youtubers unbox their fancy owl crates,. I’m certain I’m not alone in this. Right? Feel free to chime in indignantly in the comments, fellow-bookworms!

Weelllllll…. book lovers of India, I’m here to tell you that we have something of an equivalent in India! YES! Big shoutout to my friend Varsha who linked me to them! They’re called The Big Book Box . They have fun variants of their monthly boxes for people with different budgets as well as limited edition boxes. I ordered the Cappuccino box for myself, which is the biggest regular box, and decided to go only with a one month subscription because…well…money.

Ooooooh wazzindis?

I’m going to tell you the negative things about the Big Book Box in this part of the post that shall come to be known for all eternity as the “pre-gushing”.

So, firstly, my box was very, very late. Their website says that they ship boxes ordered in the previous month in the first week of the month in question. I planned accordingly to have the box sent to my house, rather than my office, because I was home for the first two weeks this month. I figured it should definitely come by the 2nd week at least. BUT the box came today, the 23rd. So, I had to tell the irritated delivery guy who called me while I was at office, to give it to my elderly neighbour while my dog barked his head off that a rando is loitering outside his territory conversing with his human. Inconvenience all round. I’m chill with receiving the box anytime but I like to know with reasonable certainty. So… that was an issue. Maybe it was just a one-time thing. I’m unsure. 🙂

Secondly, one of the books that I was sent is a sequel. And I haven’t read the first book. I’m a bookworm with a serious book-buying problem. Why are you sending me three books, in addition to the three books I bought this weekend, and then making me buy a seventh book this month by making me buy the first part?*

Well, that was that with the complaints. Now, on to the loot!

This is how the box looks: ^_^

As you can see, it’s a bright happy sky-blue, full of promises, like a clear summer day when you’re a kid.

It only gets better as you open it. The theme for the May Box is Women of Substance, which is fabulous on so many levels.

The back of this card has a sweet letter from the management of the Big Book Box.

The box is a great collection of books, bookish merch, pretty goodies and FOOD.

They’d thoughtfully included a box of nachos and salsa so that I may munch as I read. That’s how I know for sure that the people who run The Big Book Box are true-blue bookworms.

They also sent a mason jar, which is something I’ve always wanted but which was a bit extravagant for me to buy for myself. It will be put to good use during this sweltering tropical summer. 🙂 The best part is that it comes with a reusable hard plastic straw.

They sent a little scented candle, which the letter said is lavender-scented, which is one of my favourite fragrances. That’s a happy coincidence.

They also sent a cute floral coaster, which is a bit sad since I just bought uber-cool Batman coasters this weekend. It is pretty though, and probably more work appropriate that the Batman ones.

One incredibly clever thing they’ve sent is a little sack of painted pebbles which can be used to play tic-tac-toe.

So you lay this flat…

…and then you tic-tac-toe!!!

They sent bookish themed pins which took me back to a simpler time when my college bags were cloth and covered in pins. Let me tell you, guys, my pins were a conversation starter! Now I carry fancy leather handbags which truly stifle my original style, which is geek chic.

That’s how they look!

They’re female-themed in addition to book themed (Well, except the first one below, which is universal :p) and I think y’all deserve a close-up of each of them.

Preach!

Hermione! ❤

They’ve sent a simple but charming Deathly-Hallows-themed dream-catcher which is a delightful addition to my happy wall.

It dances in the breeze. 🙂

They’ve sent a Frida Kahlo bookmark. 😀

They also sent these information cards on inspirational women, along with lovely cartoons of them that I can’t stop staring at. Here’s a visual treat for you as well:

And now we come to the item that I think will make more people eat their hearts out than anything else on here:

THIS HARRY POTTER NOTEBOOK…

…Where the pages look like this:

THOSE SYMPTOMS YOU’RE SUFFERING FROM? THAT’S CALLED A CUTENESS OVERDOSE.

And nowwww, the books! 😀

They sent the June issue of a magazine called Barefoot Sunshine, which is a name which makes me smile. It’s going to be my reward for finishing this post. If I like it, I may subscribe to it. They have a subscription option right on their website. I miss receiving magazines in the mail. 🙂

The Cappuccino box has three actual books in it:

One is a paperback called Perfect by Cecelia Ahern. It’s the sequel to Flawed. That they’ve sent me a sequel upsets me, but the book itself seems interesting. So yay.

They also sent a tiny hardback called Raymie Nightingale by Kate Dicamillo, which is giving off Jackie Wilson-esque vibes, which makes me happy.

And now we come to the pièce de résistance, the book that has me the most excited, the book that I intend to read to my future children, the book that i am convinced will pass, well-loved and battered, through generations in my family is the best book that I could have ever hoped to see in my box:

YAAAAAAAS

I will read one story from it each night, as suggested by the brilliant people at the The Big Book Box.

I definitely recommend that you buy this box at least once in your life. Indulge. Treat yourself. Why would you deprive your dad of the joy of coming home to you kneeling by your teapoy fishing through packaging in a box while grinning like a maniac? Why would you miss the opportunity of having him chuckle that you look like a kid again as you rip bubble wrap off of your new mason jar? Get it, guys. Because it’s worth it.

Go ahead and check them out. 🙂

Tell me in the comments if you guys have tried out the Big Book Box before, or if my review made you want to. :p Tell me if you’ve read any of the books here before, and what you thought of them. And mostly tell me which of my loot made you the most jealous! Let me know in the comments, guys!

I love J.K Rowling. Yes, that’s right! Apparently she’s Robert Galbraith, her friend that she keeps talking to on Twitter. -Gasp-
She introduced me to Blue Oyster Cult, apparently one of her favourite bands, through this book. Its songs form a key part of this book. I’ve fallen in love with the band now.
And that’s not all! The band’s song, Career of Evil, which is what the book is named after, was written by Patti Smith whom I recently fell in love with after reading her memoir Just Kids.
Ok enough fangirling about her taste in music. Let’s start fangirling the book!
I’m of that generation that grew up reading mysteries. A lot of British authors seem fixated with mystery solving, by the way. I just realised.
I grew up on a steady diet of Enid Blyton’s mystery novels. My favourites were the Five Find-outers and dog, with Fatty and his pockets of useful tricks and his disguises. And he had a dog!
I used to crave to investigate robberies, kidnappings, anonymous letters and what not after reading these books. I once wrote an “invisible letter” with orange juice and then ironed it to read it. I was so excited! It was an idea I read in one of these books.
My desire to solve crimes melted away with age but my addiction to mystery novels and whodunits didn’t.Career of Evil is pretty classic. It contains tropes that have been present since the time of those Enid Blytons (in my timeline) like bumbling arrogant cops, and an unsocial detective with a more affable sidekick.
However, this story is unique in a lot of ways.
There are more than incidental mentions of the protagonists’ personal life which are as hooking as the mysteries at hand which are themselves intriguing.
Also, the gorgeous female sidekick is not just that. She’s strong, intelligent and accomplished. She’s an equal. And she does not allow herself to be condescended to. I adored that.
And the best (worst?) part? Rowling left us with a cliffhanger at the end of the book. Cliffhangers are the cruellest literary tool weapon known to authors and when they’re wielded expertly, they can make a reader think about the book for weeks and they can ensure that people come back for more. Not that I ever need more convincing to read Rowling, but yeah!
I loved this book, just like I love everything else that she’s written. I can’t wait for her new Cormoran Strike books.
Also, she said she’s written part of a children’s book which she’s very excited to complete. I can’t wait to read that either!
Yes. All the happy fangirling all the time. Yay. Queen Rowling is always happy making. 🙂Did any of you read this book? What did you think of it?
ALSO are any of you doing NaNoWriMo? How is that going? Tell me in the comments or on any of my social media places.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/owlishwriter
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/8681585-sindhu
Twitter: @sindrao22
Email: owlishreader@gmail.com
Instagram: owlishphotographer
That’s all for now.
Hoot.
Sin

Ok guys. I’ve done it. I’ve ordered Go Set a Watchman and I’m eagerly anticipating its delivery.
I am so terrified, especially after hearing that the chapter preview said that Atticus is now in the Ku Klux Klan. (Thank you, everybody on the internet, for mentioning it without a spoiler alert, by the way. I do so enjoy feeling punched in the gut when I open the Facebook app on the pot.) [Speaking of which: ***SPOILER ALERT*** Heh heh.]
I have this feeling each time a sequel is announced for a book that I really love, and that worked really well as a stand-alone.
It isn’t the end of the world though, is it guys? Atticus Finch has inspired hundreds of idealistic, altruistic lawyers in the real world, guys. Our world.
I’m sure some of them were eventually embittered and hardened by reality or just their perception of reality, which incidentally, may be what happened to Atticus. No? Even so, lots of people have entered the profession because of To Kill a Mockingbird. Does a sequel REALLY have to take away from that?
I am so annoyed by all these posts about parents who named their children Atticus who are now supposedly devastated, and what not. I mean, come on! Why? Did your child’s personality alter? Did your hopes and dreams for them alter? I thought not!
Artistic freedom is still a thing, guys. (Although there is a huge controversy about whether Harper Lee really intended this book to see the light of day, but that’s a discussion for a different time. Let’s assume her full and informed consent for the moment.)
So let’s try to get over our angst and read the book. Yes? Or not read the book. And continue loving To Kill a Mockingbird. (That last one isn’t optional.)

On that note, the REAL purpose of this post is to announce that I will be live tweeting as I read Go Set a Watchman and I’ll also write daily posts (Or once in 3 days. Whatever. Still an improvement right? :p) about my thoughts through the book. With my current schedule, it’ll take ages But…um… stay tuned. :p
I was thinking of using the hashtag #owlishreadsGSAW.
So yes. I guess that’s all.Oh one last thing. I AM NOW A WEBSITE OWNER. THAT’S RIGHT, PEOPLE! My blog can now be accessed at owlishwriter.com! Go ahead and bookmark it for your easy access! Woot!
Follow me on Twitter if you want to witness me freak out about the book in real time. And everywhere else too, because why not. :p
Here:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/owlishwriter
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/8681585-sindhu
Twitter: @sindrao22
Email: owlishreader@gmail.com
Instagram: owlishreader
That’s all for now, I guess. 🙂
Hoot.
–Sin